In the spirit of spooks, here's a cartoon. Even if you disagree with the message, it's pretty damn funny to see Condi Rice fly by on a broom.

SWM likes walks in the rain, looking for the right kind of girl. No pro-choice feminists need apply.

I don't know why we had to find this out from another website, but apparently a young Republican whippersnapper in Grand Prairie is running for Congress. This by itself isn't news, but the fact that he tried to sell dates for campaign dollars is [WorldNetDaily]. From the article:

"They say the young candidates bring in fresh ideas, and I figured why not, I'm single, and I need quite a bit of money to meet my goals for this campaign against Mr. Barton," Dauben said in his original release. "A date with a congressional candidate at $25 is nothing compared to what major corporations wine and dine their pet politicians with."

Too, too funny. If you're interested, here's Mr. Dauben's "official" website and his MySpace page.

He has since stopped the offer. Sorry, ladies!

Alito seems like a nice guy. On CNN American Morning they had a liberal friend of his saying that he's a pleasant and thoughtful human being. His friend said that he thought he should be on the court, but he expressed reservations about his conservatism. We can always hope that his strong conservatism will not express itself on the court, but that seems pointless.

Before his nomination, the SCOTUS blog thought he would be picked and posted an analysis on his past decision history which is illuminating.

Some think that we should just accept this nomination, but as a pro-choice female, I sincerely hope that the liberal politicians will put up a fight. Then when we have to kiss our abortion rights goodbye, at least we'll look back and recall that we fought for them. *sigh*

Happy Halloween! There go our hopes for a minority Supreme Court candidate! All we can say is there better be a fight with this one from the left.

Cause The Onion will totally fuck you up.

Senator Trent Lott said that blogs consider him their 'first pelt' and it took me a while to even figure out what the hell he was talking about. Then I remembered that he was a racist and blogs called him on it and he was disgraced and shamed. Y'all remember that? Anyway, he says because of that he'll never read blogs. That means we can say whatever we want to about Trent Lott and he'll never know!!

Don Stewart, a spokesman for Sen. John Cornyn says a lot of staff read the blogs. The Republicans apparently set up a blogger conference thingy on Capitol Hill recently and gave access to elected officials for half a day. We're wondering when Rick Perry will invite us to the pink dome and when Strayhorn will beg us for coverage by inviting us to the hideous building that is the State Comptroller's office. Even Trent Lott knows blogs aren't going away.

Here's our plea to elected officials in Texas: Blogs are just as capable of coming to your press conference and tickling your ass with a feather for a good quote as anybody that works at the Statesman...and we've had a lot more experience. xo, PD

Senator KBH left herself wide-open with her mind-boggling remarks on Meet the Press last week. Candidate Barbara Radnofsky takes the opportunity to giver her an upper cut and body blow with a press release. Radnofsky reminds us in plain language, "Lying to a grand jury is a crime."

Then Radnofsky told us that KBH likes it rough. We believe her, we saw the nipple rings.

The Bush Administration did tell the truth when they said this is a sad day for America. For all the posturing, the political spinning of this story there is a truth that will be discovered. Comparisons to the indictments against Bill Clinton are far-fetched, at best. Lying under oath about a consensual adulterous affair is no comparison to a politically motivated revenge and violating the trust that CIA employees put in their government to provide a life of service to their country. Technically, the case is made this was a breach of national security. I can go with that. But, at the heart of the matter is the disregard for the rule of law in destroying careers of those that speak the truth or dare to challenge the government.

Our country is built on checks on balances for just this reason. Valerie Plame and her husband Joe Wilson were punished for telling the truth, just as Bunnatine (Bunny) Greenhouse who built a career at the Pentagon was destroyed by objecting to no-bid contracts in Iraq.

I wouldn't say the 'Left' is celebrating; I would say that Americans know the truth is the thing. The ability to trust and respect our government is what's important. Corruption, greed and blatant disregard for anything other than a stringent political ideaological agenda is what really ruins careers in the long run.

My grandmother always told us "The truth will set you free." I believe that. I have to for the sake of all of us.

DeLay is asserting that "We are witnessing the criminalization of conservative politics." [USAToday] Because conservatives like Rove, Frist and DeLay are so squeaky clean. Rrrrrrrright.

So, it's a weekend filled with Halloween parties. PinkDome always has a problem with a costume because there is a strong lazy streak in putting together anything too elaborate and there's also a strong desire not to look like a goofball ass. Because, in case you did not know it, you won't get laid if you look like a schmuck in your costume.

That being said, what should we dress up as this year? Any good ideas?

The Minutemen are along the border, we guess. We haven't seen much coverage and haven't had any emails from you in South Texas about rednecks with guns so we haven't thought much more about it lately. That's why we're glad Rep. Pena has a blog. Reading Rep. Pena's blog is a good way to keep up with what the hell is happening in South Texas. It also gives us a chance to give him kudos for keeping up with the blogging even though the Lege is not in session.

In an article posted on NYTimes.com just a bit ago, they are reporting that Libby will be indicted tomorrow. In case you don't have a user ID to view the article, it also states that the prosecutor may ask the grand jury to extend its term to continue an investigation of Karl Rove. The Times is reporting the Rove will not be indicted tomorrow.

[CNN]

This is a twofer. The headline from the CNN story is, "What Doomed Her Nomination?" So, you can either caption this photo or provide us with the mile-long list of things that doomed her nomination. We'll get you started:
*Lack of qualifications (To quote John Edwards, "Being George Bush's attorney doesn't qualify you for the Supreme Court")
*What the hell does she stand for?
*Lesbian?
*Fashion Disaster! Those bangs alone are reason for disqualification!

Your turn!

This video is too freakin' funny not to share: Presidential Speechalist. If you recognize the speechalist, that's because he's played by Andy Dick.

[BoingBoing]

Andy Brown this morning at Cipollina, the trendy Clarksville Cafe. (Trendy, mainly, because I'm a regular)

Are a few words we'd use to describe the Bush Administration. I must admit, all of the activity going on in Washington has made Texas politics seem almost lame by comparison. A rare thing, indeed. Today, the White House reversed it's decision to lift the Davis-Bacon Act (The one that says contractors can pay below the prevailing wage to rebuild after the hurricanes) and Bush has urged Congress to push forward on cuts in an out-of-control budget.

With the Miers withdrawal and wide-speculation of impending indictments we've stopped watching the ABC series, "Commander in Chief" because this is the most fascinating show we've seen in a while.

If Dubya asked us for our recommendation for the Supreme Court, we'd say draft Prado. Right now there is no way that he would choose someone so moderate (and dare we say, perfect for the position!). He's gonna try to please his conservative detractors. We just wanted to say that in a perfect world, Prado would be the best pick. He's moderate, Republicans like him, and he's a minority!

But in a perfect world, we wouldn't still be in Iraq, Dubya wouldn't be in power, and we wouldn't have bigots putting ridiculous amendments up to vote. And we would all be very rich, and live in gingerbread houses by a chocolate stream!

First the Astros lose . . .

[Yahoo!]

Then we find out that Harriet Miers has withdrawn. Honestly, we are of two minds about this. Part of us knows that she was just not qualified at all, but part of us is very wary of who Dubya will pick next. Priscilla Owen, NOOOOOOO!!!!!

This is what I'd give you.

[via 2 Political Junkies]

The FDA is taking public comments on emergency contraception until November 1. If you agree with us about the need for emergency birth control (especially in cases of rape and sexual assault), let the FDA know.

Go here for more information and a link to the FDA comment form.

Now that Baxter is out of the race for HD-48 here in Austin, there's rumors afloat that Kelly White may be rethinking her candidacy. She had been behind Donna Howard as her campaign treasurer, but is floating the idea of running. Texas Weekly is also reporting "you might also believe that the Democrat with the best combination of name identification, grassroots support and money would have the best chance. And since she ran before, you might pick White to bear the standard, even though she's endorsed Howard and told friends and supporters in emails that Howard would make a better representative than she would." Kelly, if you are the candidate, can we come along when you toilet paper Bentzin's house?

Incidentally, a trip to www.DonnaHoward.com takes you to a self-described "Psychic Animal Communicator" and "Psychic Ghost Communicator". Maybe she could shed some light on when Perry's gonna call the special election, and which D is gonna take on Bentzin. I couldn't fina anything for Kathy Rider, but Andy Brown's site is all fancy looking, check it out at www.VoteAndy.com. Also, did you know he was at the John Edwards' speech? Why didn't you stop by & chat up us bloggers in the back Andy?

I know, you're thinking, how PD? How in the hell does this troll of a man continue to amaze you when you've never seen anything but an example of a flaw in the gene pool where he is concerned? Well, here's his statement on the phone campaign that was started to educate voters of the vague language in Prop. 2

I'm going to highlight some of the text below:
"The folks who produced this recording have laid all integrity aside," Rep. Warren Chisum (R - Pampa) said. "The language for Proposition 2 has been reviewed by the legislature and some of the state's top attorneys. This is a scare tactic orchestrated by individuals who are willing to do anything to make sure Proposition 2 is unsuccessful in the polls. I am appalled that people would take advantage of others by disseminating this type of widespread deceit."

Ok, Now let's change a few words and we'll use this as the official PinkDome press release! You can copy and paste and create your own! It'll be like Mad Libs.

"The folks who produced this proposed amendment have laid all integrity aside," Pinkdome said. "The language for Proposition 2 was never reviewed by the Attorney General's office as requested by several legislators. This is a scare tactic orchestrated by Republicans who are willing to do anything to make sure they draw out votes in the next election of a far-right idealogue base that has no interest in protecting the civil rights of Texans. I am appalled that people would take advantage of others by disseminating this type of widespread deceit."

Your turn!

Well, we know next Saturday they'll be here in Austin. The KKK will be performing and all-white production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Austin City Hall and now we know Frau Tina Benkiser of the Texas Republican Party will be in Arlington on Thursday to light their very own burning cross in the parking lot of the Cornerstone Baptist Church.

I don't understand why these two groups have to hold separate events.

Too harsh? The picture of the hooded KKK member in the same sentence with the Texas Republican Party? Nope. You lay down with dogs and you get up with fleas. Republicans...you're covered in fleas.

Rumor has it that indictments will be announced tomorrow [HuffPo]. We're just passing that on. . . so do with it what you will.

Carole Keeton Strayhorn is still yelling about the $1.2 billion dollars she has lying around in her office. She tried calling for a special to give it to Katrina victims, she tried calling for a special to give it to Rita victims, she's now trying to chop it up and use it for property tax relief. Perry's response? Eh. Seriously, this lady can't even give money away and can barely grab a headline. Does anyone even still remember that there's a Republican primary coming up? The only headlines of hers that I've seen recently are how her campaign manager is doing campaign work from his state office. Great press lady, even if it is all ok, there's still the appearance of impropriety.

We don't really understand the point of this CNN Poll: Poll: Bush would lose an election if held this year. Sha! Big surprise! No one wants to vote for him now. . . it's like that Ted Rall strip.

Riddle me this - has there been a President since Ike who hasn't gotten in some sort of trouble in his second term?

So were these two separated at birth or what? As I'm guessing you heard from PD, BOR, and ITPT - John Edwards was on the University of Texas campus yesterday to talk to students about Opportunity Rocks, an organization devoted to fighting poverty. (also check out this guy, he was very nice to us, I can't figure out why, because we're assholes). Sadly, there were no free drinks. However, there was a former vice-presidential candidate willing to talk to bloggers after the speech.

Edwards' big thing was harping on Bobby Kennedy, how he inspired college kids to go out and be the catalyst for change. Then he tried to do the same thing. (Note the pic, I think there was a reason he kept coming back to ol' Bobby K). It was a great message and all, so go out & end poverty.

There were a couple points made afterwards about reframing the moral debate. Edwards mentioned how time is wasted by those on the other side of the aisle on divisive moral issues (sidenote: GO VOTE NOW AGAINST PROP 2). Poverty is one of those things that reaches across geographical, racial & income lines as a concern, and it is a message that should be carried on. Quote "The world wants us to lead & fill the void of moral leadership."

-In regards to Harriet Miers: She sucks, we don't know anything about her, and being Bush's lawyer doesn't qualify you for a post on the Supreme Court.
-In regards to John Roberts: he voted for him in 2001 for DC circuit court judge but would have voted against him for Chief Justice. There's a big difference between the circuit court and the Supreme Court.
-Labor law reforms and housing vouchers were touched on. After Katrina forced us to see poor people, we should work to enact change. Concentrating impovershed ethnic groups together can only result in disaster, and we can work to change this as we rebuild New Orleans.
-Raise minimum wage to $7.50
-Pink Lady asked about presidential aspirations in '08. Typical non-committal answer. Oh well, you gotta ask.
-Great handshake, I think I went back a few times just to shake his hand some more.
-He drinks Diet Sprite Remix. Ick.

For the first time a poll says that over 50% of Americans now believe the war in Iraq is wrong and 66% say the President is doing a poor job. As the administration is in a tailspin over everything from eroding support to the budget crisis to the Harriet Miers nomination, conservatives are pulling every last ditch effort out of the woodwork to call the Dems a party without an agenda or with no plan.

Ask me, I've got a plan. The wheels are falling off, folks.

We have an unconfirmed report the State Capitol was evacuated due to a fire alarm/bomb threat or something. Our tipster suggests that maybe Tom DeLay walked in and everyone just fled the building in fear of being photographed with him or something. Let us know what you heard.

My radio alarm clock awakened me with the news that Rick Perry believes Ronnie Earle, the Travis County District Attorney, is an 'overzealous prosecutor' and that Tom DeLay should be able to remain as Majority Leader of the House. So, what it means to me is that Rick Perry thinks those pesky rules that say if you're indicted you have to resign from a leadership position are not applicable to his friends.

Rick is reading from the same script that KBH read from on Meet the Press this week. The GOP talking points are apparently from 'upside down world' and we look forward to the next round!

When the US death toll hits 2,000 in Iraq, there will be peace marches throughout the nation. You can go here to see where marches will be in your area. We note this because as of right now, the death toll is 1,999. Sadly, 2,000 doesn't seem that far off.

Americans are getting stupider. Let's blame it on Fox News and Pat Robertson: CBS on AOL: Majority of Americans Reject Theory of Evolution. Of course, as always, we take these polls with a grain of salt. Because polls suck.

It should be fun for the whole family! The city has reserved the Austin City Hall's south plaza on Lavaca and Cesar Chavez from 1-3 pm on Saturday, November 5. We're just kidding, of course, about the picnic lunch. Our advice is for you to stay away from downtown on November 5. Remember the riots in Ohio just recently at the last KKK rally?

We'll probably just watch the results on CNN later that afternoon. The Klan is coming to town to endorse Proposition 2. That's awesome. I, personally, appreciate the Ku Klux Klan coming out in favor of this amendment because it makes everything I've ever said about Warren Chisum, Robert Talton, Todd Staples and that ass-fuck Shackleford true.

And believe me, folks, it is not an accident that right below this post is a tribute to a great American Rosa Parks. Shame on Austin for giving the KKK a permit. This isn't free speech, it's hate speech to incite a goddamn riot about 8 blocks from my friggin house is what it is.

Rosa Parks passed away at the age of 92. When I think of her, I think of courage of convictions and bravery and patriotism and the ultimate in standing up for what is right. As a country, we owe her a debt and as a heroine of the civil rights movement and we owe her our thanks.

Rosa Parks helped publicize an injustice in a dramatic way. Through courage and strength. I can't help but think our nation needs more people like Rosa Parks and we are sorely missing them.

Goodbye and May God Have Blessings on Her Soul.

Senator Edwards wants to encourage the youth of America to become 'loud and ferocious' in fighting poverty in America. Ironically, Senator Edwards is about as ferocious as a piece of milquetoast. His speech to the friendly crowd of wide-eyed students was informative, but not inspiring. Mr. Edwards could be commended for his 'college tour' to light the spark of activism in students. But, I'll let other blogs do that.

John Edwards is a likable fella, but he just didn't light a fire under my ass. I guess the same could be said about the American voters in the last election. I did take a lot of notes during his 'special time with bloggers' after his speech, but it was because he was sitting right in front of me and I didn't want to seem like a dick. Rawhide was there, he'll probably tell you what the speech and movement is all about. His hair did look good, though. Beats Rick Perry's hair by a factor of ten. And speaking of Rick Perry, when will he ever give 'special time with bloggers' cause I know I would have a few good questions, mofo.

**UPDATE** Ok, maybe I was a little hard on Senator Edwards. I was in a foul mood yesterday and perhaps that clouded my awe at his altruism and efforts to bring the fight against poverty in America to a discussion among college students. Mea Culpa. Senator Edwards was informative, and his speech made some points that were off the scale in terms of being obvious. He declared that the fight for poverty was the new moral issue of our day and it was up to us to expect moral leaders, regardless of party, to fight this fight.

All of those are things I can agree with him on. I stand by my post that he's just not a dynamic speaker, he's endearing and likable...but not dynamic.

So, do something. Fight poverty. Volunteer. Edwards is right, Hurricane Katrina brought the ugly face of poverty to our television sets. And we all know if we see it on television, it must be true.

Better?

This is what we were hoping for last week. Thanks, Fake Delay Mugshot.com, for making wishes come true!

As a regular voter (yes, even in city and amendment elections, I'm crazy that way), I depend on the League of Women Voters Voter's Guide (pdf). It is always non-partisan, un-biased and informative. Of course we are biased and will say vote NO on Prop. 2. But look to the voter's guide for everything else.

It's gay day on the blogs today. Early voting starts today and the blogs are all reminding us that Proposition 2 is on the ballot. BOR has a rundown of every major state newspaper's opposition to Prop. 2 and In The Pink Texas has a hilarious paid actor endorsement for Prop. 2 for our amusement.

You can view all 9 proposed Constitutional Amendments here. It's important to familiarize yourself with them and to participate in the vote. (HAHA, that made us laugh) As far as telling you what we endorse and don't here's our simple guide:

Vote No. Not only on Prop. 2, which you should vote no on unless you want us to compare you to an idiot like Warren Chisum or Robert Talton, but vote no on all of these proposed amendments. The Texas constitution (should I have capitalized that "c"?) is a convaluted document that requires a little re-working so that these amendments aren't necessary in the first place.

We would have read these already. We're still getting over the weekend, so here are some links for you to check out:

Texas Observer: Bench Play: Harriet Miers and the troubled Texas Lottery - by Molly Ivins. See our earlier post.

KBH a flip-flopper? Say it ain't so, Joe! Think Progress: Hutchison Flip-Flops on Importance of Perjury. Added note: Someone should tell the staffer answering the phones last week that their boss' name is NOT "Hutchinson".

R. J. Reynolds hearts Tom DeLay. He flew down to Houston on their corporate jet. Niiiice.

Last night I watched her 'perform' on Meet The Press and she was wearing the most God-awful blue suit. This suit had silver hoops on the breast pockets and now my brain is forever burned with an image of KBH with nipple rings.

I think Senator Hutchison owns about four different suits and that's it. I've seen her in blue, red, white and black. Every one of them looks like they came from Talbot's. Someone should indict her on a serious fashion charge.

Click here to see the Scandalvision chart that details WTF is going on in the Bush administration. Thanks to the commenter for sending it. I printed it out.

A Texas Monthly preview led me to a story on Boys State. When I did this, it was called Youth Lege and yes, I still have my t-shirt. The interview with three McCallum students and their experience at Boys State made me at once proud of the youth of Texas and so ashamed of the youth of Texas I felt sick. Three of the boys interviewed decided to go home and discussed their reasons. Intolerance across the board seems to be the overwhelming reason.

This excerpt is what made me sad for our youth:

That night, after the lights went out, one of the boys' roommates, whom he described as tall, blond, wealthy, athletic, and proudly homophobic, confessed, "I hate fags." He was thinking about going to UT, he said, until he heard that Texas had a lot of gay students. And that wasn't the only group he focused his anger on. In his pickup, he said, he kept a baseball bat filled with lead. "When people ask me what that bat's for, I tell them it's my can crusher," he said. "For Afri-cans and Mexi-cans."

Which is worse: the Triumph the comic insult/attack dog ad ("It's not a crime to be a conservative") or this really lame "laundromat" ad? I wanted to like it, guys, really I did. But I could have made a better ad and I have no clue how to use Photoshop.

Burning bodies of Taliban soldiers? Dude, I know war is hell and all but what in the hell?

PHOTO REMOVED

Wow, we're shocked! SHOCKED we tell you that a Virginia company paid $440,000 in bribes and kickbacks in the United Nations Oil for Food program and the money wound up with Saddam and his family. So, nope...this whole oil business is not just as seedy and bloody as we thought it was. Turns out we were wrong to even question the altruistic humanitarian campaign and the big oil companies. Shame on us. (This now ends irony. Feel free to be irony-free in the comments)

Did Tom DeLay have plastic surgery that went awry?

An 82-year old woman received a recruitment letter from the Marines telling her the military "is in need of your service." We know the military is not meeting its recruitment goals, but we didn't know it was this bad.

Personally, this letter tells me two things: 1.) The military has some sort of incompetence going on and 2.) Recruitment must be be more dire than we have been lead to believe.

I'm trying to think what my own grandmother, if she were alive today, would do if 'called to serve' by the Marines. She would probably require all the young men's uniforms to be hemmed and taken in where they were ill-fitting and give tons of hugs and lead prayer groups. My grandmother could lead us out of Iraq with an unqualified victory in no time flat, she was the awesomest.

What's up with politicians winning money from gambling? First Kinky Friedman wins $45,000 by playing slots in Louisiana. Now U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) won $850,000 from the Powerball. Shouldn't political bloggers get some of that luck? Time for a PinkDome Vegas trip to see where our luck stands.

DeLay's mugshot on TSG: He looks too damn happy. If you're too lazy to go to TSG, here it is.

Tom DeLay is probably going to avoid the 'perp walk' when he may or may not appear in Austin regarding his indictment. (Forgive the syntax, I'm hungover) But, if anyone can get us a photo of Tom Delay at the Travis County Courthouse we'll give you a prize.

First Prize: Tom DeLay in handcuffs gets $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant
Second Prize: Tom DeLay with his coat or hands over his face surrounded by police, etc. gets a $25 gift certificate
Third Prize: Tom DeLay having sexual relations with a farm animal gets you the keys to my car.

Happy photo hunting shutterbugs!

We'll miss his God-awful hair and carb face. Now let's all jump on the Andy Brown bandwagon.

I would have posted this a lot earlier, but I'm hungover. (D'uh)

We'll be making an appearance at the Best of Austin party this evening If you're one of the 'Best' be sure to spot us and for the love of Pete, feel us up!

Should they oppose Proposition 2 on the November Ballot or not? Click here to help them decide that "D'uh, they should totally oppose Prop. 2."

In other Gay Marriage news, the HRC says watch out for tomorrow when the Federal Marriage Amendment is back on the schedule:
TOMORROW, Thursday, October 20th, Senator Brownback (R-KS) will preside over the second Senate subcommittee hearing this year to address marriage between same-sex couples. Today, we'd like you to send a strong message to your Senator who sits on the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution and will be attending tomorrow's hearing.